Phoenix police searching for suspects in unusual assault cases

Phoenix police are looking for help in identifying two assault suspects who have two things in common: bad tempers and unusual weapons.

The first of these two incidents came on July 10, 2014 at a bus stop on 43rd Ave, north of McDowell Road, just after 6 p.m.

“A guy tried to get on the bus, but he didn’t have the proper fare,” said Phoenix Police Sgt. Jamie Rothschild. “So the suspect reacted by picking up his skateboard and using it to beat the 67-year-old bus driver.”

The driver recovered and investigators believe they’ve identified his attacker. What they need is witness statements, asking anyone who was on the bus when the assault happened to let them know what they saw.

The next case occurred on Jan. 1, 2017 at about 1:30 a.m., when a suspect assaulted a clerk inside a Circle K on Tatum Boulevard near Cactus Road. According to police, the suspect hit the clerk with a full two-liter bottle of soda.

Rothschild said the male suspect was clean-cut and may have had a little too much to drink.

“You look at the day and hour, it’s quite possible he was coming from a party or celebrating,” Rothschild said.

The suspect was upset after having issues with the store’s credit card machine. After cursing out the clerk, he picked up the soda and threw it at the clerk, hitting him in the face. He then fled the store on foot, heading north on Tatum, so he may live in the area.